Paper address plate



Sept. 12, 1961 D. J. HUSHEK PAPER ADDRESS PLATE Filed May 19, 1960 DANEL l HUSHEK BY PIECE/ m. Ak N W HD Xlv. Mq m 5 /M 2 1 1 2 Y l m f ,L R 9k .IHHHW lr 3 k U l ,l j@ L w United States Patent z,s99,4s7 PAPER ADDRESS PLATE Daniel l Husheli, 630 Davis, Melrose Park, Ill. Filed May 19, 196i), Ser. No..30,226 2 Claims. (Cl. lill-369) This invention relates'to paper printing pl-ate of the kind having a hectographic image formed on one surface thereof tand adapted to be used in a machine-handling system wherein a number of paper printing plates arefsequentially fed one by one from ia stack to a printing station. More particularly, this invention relates to `a paper printing plate construction effective to prevent damaging of the hectographic image during the handling of the printing plate in the course of operation of the machine- 1handling system.

Paper printing plates of the kind to which this invention relates are commonly used in a system for machine addressing envelopes, pamphlets or similar literature to individuals on a mailing list. Thus, 'a paper printing plate may be stacked with a number of like paper printing plates in a file until such time as the litena'ture to be addressed is ready `for mailing, whereupon the stack'of paper printing plates is placed in a hopper, and the plates `are Subsc-- quently fed one by one from the hopper to` a printing station in an automatic manner. At theprinting station the hectographic image is imprinted on 4a moistened surface of the piece oi literature to be addressed to imprint an ink image thereon, and the printing plateis subsequently conveyed to a receiving hopper or the like.

A paper printing plate of the kind to which this invention relates is generally utilized in this manner a number of times to print literature for various occasions, and it Will be appreciated that Vit is `highly desirable that the hectographic image formed thereon be capable of producing a sharp and legible image on the literature on each occasion. However, the manner lin which the paper printing plates must necessarily be stacked on top of one another to enable the printing plates to be `automatically handled by the machine system as aforesaid has given rise to serious problems of smudging of the hectographic images. The relative motion produced between adjacent printing plates in the course of yseparating and feeding an individual printing plate from the feeding hopper is primarily responsible for the problem of smudging the hectographic image. Thus, it quite often happens that after only a relatively few cycles of operation through the machine-handling system the hectographic image is smudged to a degree that the subsequent image imprinted on the literature is illegible. Also, the manner in which the paper printing plates are stacked one on top of another has given rise to problems of olisetting of the hectographic images between the opposed surfaces of adjacent printing plates.

lt is therefore a primary object of the present invention to eliminate the problems of smudging and oil-setting of the hectographic images in a paper printing plate of the kind described to thereby prolong the useul life of the printing plate; and this is accomplished by having resort to a novel printing plate construction which is effective at all times to maintain the hectographic image in spaced relation from an opposed surface, such as the opposed of an immediately adjacent printing plate in a stack, that could cause smudging or other damage to the hectographic image in the course of operation of the machine-handling system.

lt is a specilic object of the present invention to form a paper printing plate with raised rail members projecting from the surface of the plate which bears the hectographic image. The railmembers are disposed at opposite sides of the image and are generally longitudinally 2,999,457 Patented Sept. 12, 1961 aligned in the direction in which the plate is to be moved in the machine-handling system.

The present invention is especially adapted to be incorporated in a printing plate of a conventional rectangular business card configuration which includes a printing area disposed adjacent one end of the printing plate. The location of the printing area corresponds generally to the location of like printing areas on a number of similar printing plates to be used in the machine-handling system. lnthis case the rail members are preferably formed by embossing and extend generally parallel to the shorter side edges of the rectangular plate on opposite sides of the printing area. Each rail member includes both a ridge which projects from the surface of the plate bearing the hectographic image at a height greater than that of the image and a groove in the surface of the plate opposite that bearing the image.

And to construct a novel paper printing plate incorporating embossed rail members as aforesaid constitutes another object of the present invention.

Inasrnuch asrthe printing areas of the various printing plates are located in substantially the same position on each individual printing plate some nesting or" the ridges of one printing plate in the grooves of an adjacent printing plate may occur whenever a number of printing plates are stacked one on top of another. It is another object of the present invention to incline the rail members at a slight angle with respect to one another and with respect to the direction in which the printing plate to be moved in the machine-handling system. This inclination of the rail members causes the ridges of one printing plate to ride out of the grooves of an adjacent printing plate immediately upon any relative movement between the printing plates to thereby separate the plates from a nested condition and insure against smudging of th images between adjacent printing plates. t

It is yet another object of the present invention to form a printing plate of a generally rectangular configuration as described hereinabove with an additional rail member in the end portion of the plate opposite that having the printing area. The additional rail member includes a ridge projecting from the same surface of the plate as the other ridges noted hereinabove and is elective to maintain the plate in a substantially level position when stacked With a number of like printing plates.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing which, by Way of illustration, shows preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what is now consideredV to be the best mode contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention.

In the drawings:

FlG. l is a side elevation view of a stack of printing plates each constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention and disposed Within a feeding hopper of a conventional machine-handling system;

FiG. '2 is an end elevation view of the stack of printing plates illustrated in FIG. l and showsV mechanism for feeding an individual printing plate from the stack to a conveyor mechanism in a conventional handling system;

FiG. 3 is a plan view of a stack of individual printing plates, each constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates the manner which an individual printing plate is separated from the stack incidental to feeding the printing plate to a printing station; A p

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal view in section through an individual printing plate constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention and is taken substantially along the line indicated by the arrows 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged detail view taken substantially along the line indicated by the arrows 5-5 in FG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of another form of a printing plate constructed in accordance with the present invention.

In FIG. 3 of the drawings a paper printing plate constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is shown in plan View and is indicated generally by the reference numeral 11. In this instance the printing plate 11 is of the general conguration of a conventional rectangular business card of the kind adapted to be automatically handled by various kinds of business machines. The card 11 includes a printing area indicated by the reference numeral 12.. In the printing plate illustrated in FIG. 3 the name and address and as well as other relevant data pertaining to a particular individual is shown is printed on the upper surface of the paper printing plate. As indicated by the reference numeral 13 in FIG. 4 a hectographic carbon image which corresponds to the data imprinted on the upper surface of the plate is` formed on the lower surface plate 11 and in the printing area 12. The relief of the image 13 is considerably exaggerated in FIG. 4 for the purpose of illustration. The hectographic image 13 is adapted to react with a moistured surface of an envelope, pamphlet, or like piece of literature when pressed thereon to imprint the data contained within the printing area 12 on the envelope, pamphlet or the like.

For the purpose of addressing or imprinting other desired data on a large number of pieces of literature in a fast and convenient manner a large number of printing plates as 11 may be stacked one on top of ano-ther and utilized in a conventional and well-known machinehandling system to print the individual and differing data of each printing plate on the literature in an automatic manner. Thus, a number of paper printing plates as 11 may be grouped in a stack '16 (see FIGS. l and 2) and placed in a hopper 17 of a machine-handling system. From the hopper 17 the printing plates 11 are fed one by one to a printing station where the hectographic image 13 is pressed into engagement with a moistened surface of a piece of literature to be printed to thereby imprint the data from the printing area 1'2 Aon the piece of literature. Subsequently, each printing plate is removed from the printing station and transferred to a receiving hopper or the like. When the last printing plate in the stack 16 has thus been transferred to the receiving hopper or the like, the stack of printing plates may thereafter be placed in storage le until such time as additional literature is to be printed. The mechanism for accomplishing the imprinting of the data from the individual printing plates at the printing station and for transferring the prnting plates to and from the printing station may be of any conventional kind and forms no part of the present invention. In FIG. 2, however, suiicient structure of a conventional machine-handling mechanism 'has vbeen illustrated to indicate the manner in which an individual printing plate is separated from the stack in the course of feeding the individual printing plate from the hopper 17 to the printing station. Thus, in PEG. 2 a feed knife 19 engages the rear and longitudinally extending edge of the lowermost plate in the stack, denoted by the reference character 11A. Thereafter the plate 11A is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow X to separate the plate 11A from the stack as will be apparent from-an inspection of FIG. 2. With paper printing plate constructions hereto utilized the resultant necessary relative motion between the plate 11A and an immediately adjacent plate 11B in the stack can and often times does produce srnudging of the hetographic carbon image contained on the plate 11B. i

'Ihe present invention incorporates means for maintaining the image of each printing plate spaced from the opposed surface of an immediately adjacent printing plate to assure against smudging of the image 13. As best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 each printing plate 11 is formed with rail members 21 and 22 which extend generally parallel to the direction in which the individual printing plates are to be moved in the machine-handling system and which are disposed at opposite sides of the printing area `12. Preferably, the railV members 21 and 22 are embossed in the printing plate 11 by any suitable embossing structure. members includes ridges 21R and 22R which project from the same surface of the plate 11 as that bearing the carbon image 13. The rail members may also include grooves 21G and ZZG in the surface of the printing plate 11 that is opposite that which bears the image 13. As best illustrated in FIG. 5 the ridges 21R and 22R project suiciently far to prevent engagement of the carbon images 13 with the opposed surface of an adjacent printing plate in a stack Ias 16. However, inasmuch as the printing areas and rail members of each printing plate are disposed in substantially the same position on the different printing plates, there may be some tendency for the ridges of one plate to nest within the grooves of an immediately adjacent plate after repeated cycles of operation with the paper printing plates.

The present invention insures against smudging of the hectographic images during relative movement of two adjacent printing plates even in the event some nesting, as described above, should occur. Thus, in a preferred form of the present invention the rail members 21 and Z2 are inclined at a slight angle with respect to one another and with respect to the direction, indicated by the arrows X, in which the cards are to be moved in the course of operation of the machine-handling system. By reason of skewed disposition of the rail members 21 and 22 the ridges of an upper printing plate are caused to ride out of the outer `grooves of a lower printing plate 11A immediately upon relative movement between the printing plates, as occurs during a feeding operation of the lower printing plate 11A from a stack as 16. Therefore, even though there might be some slight nesting of the ridges of the plate 11B in the grooves of the plate 11A in the at-rest and stacked condition of the plates in the hopper, the ridges of the upper plate 111B are immediately effective to space the carbon image 13 formed thereon from the opposed surface of the printing plate 11A upon any relative movement between these two printing plates (see FIG. 5). .Y

While the ridges 21R and 22R need project from the surface of the printing plate 11 by only a small amount, in the order of four thousandths of lan inch (0.004 in.) in a commercial form of the printing plate, the cumulative effect 0f these ridges in a stack of printing plates 'as 16 can cause the stack to assume a canted or non-level condition. The present invention contemplates tan additional r-ail member 2.3 disposed in the end portion of the printing plate 11 opposite that containing the printing area 12 for maintaining each of the printing plates in a level position in the stack. Thus, the rail member 23 extends generally parallel to the rail members 21 and 22 and includes ridge 23R projecting from the sameV surface of the printing plates as the ridges 21R and 22R.

While the skewed arrangement of the rail members 21 and 2.2 represents the preferred form of the present invention, in some instances it may not be necessary to have resort to such a construction to prevent Smudging of the formed on the printing plate. In FIG. 6 there is illustrated another form of the present invention in which the rail members 21 and 22 are disposed exactly parallel to one another rather than being inclined -at a slight angle. The printing plate illustrated in FIG. 6 is otherwise like the printing plate illustrated in FIG. 3 and like reference As illustrated in FIG. 4 the embossed rail` numerals, but with the addition of the prime mark, are used to indicate like parts.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention there is provided la novel printing plate construction which incorporates rail members effective to prevent both smudging of the hectographic image and cti-setting of the image between ladjacent printing plates. The rail members of the present invention can be quickly and economically incorporated in existing paper printing plates by a simple embossing operation and without other revision or modification.

Hence, while -I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modioation.

I claim:

1 A paper printing plate of the kind adapted to be used in a machine handling system wherein a number of paper printing plates are fed seriatim from a stack to a printing station, said paper printing plate including a printing area having a hectographic image formed on one surface thereof, the location of said printing area corresponding to the location of like printing areas on a number of similar printing plates to be used in the machine handling system, means for maintaining an image on a printing plate spaced from an opposed surface on an immediately adjacent printing plate both to prevent oisetting of the image onto the adjacent printing plate while the printing plate is stacked with a plurality of printing plates and to prevent smudging of the image whenever the printing plate is moved relative to an immediately adjacent printing plate, as occurs during the feeding of the printing plate vfrom a stack of like plates to a printing station, said means comprising embossed rail members formed in the printing plate at opposite sides of the printing Varea and generally longitudinally aligned with the direction in which the plate is to be moved in the machine handling system, each rail member including both a ridge projecting from the surface of the plate bearing the image at a height greater than that of the image and a groove in the surface of the plate opposite that bearing the image, whereby some nesting of the ridges of one printing plate in the grooves of an adjacent printing plate may occur in a stack of printing plates, said rail members being slightly skewed with respect to one another and the direction in which the printing plate is to be moved in the machine handling system for causing the ridges of one printing plate to ride out of the grooves of an adjacent printing plate immediately upon relative movement between the printing plate to separate the plates from a nested condition and insure against smudging of the images between adjacent printing plates. j

2. A paper printing plate as dened in claim 1 wherein said printing plate is of a generally rectangular configuration and the printing area is disposed adjacent one end thereof with the rail members extending generally parallel to the shorter side edges of the rectangular plate |and wherein an additional rail member is formed in an end portion of the plate opposite that having the printing area, said additional rail member including a ridge projecting from same surface of the plate as the other :ridges for maintaining said plate in -a substantially level position when stacked with a number of like printing plates.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,239,760 Belknap Sept. 1l, 1917 2,091,976 Gollwitzer Sept. 7, 1937 'FOREIGN PATENTS 483,718 Great Britain Apr. 25, 1938 

